Never before have the differences been starker between President Obama and his GOP challenger, Mitt Romney.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, while the nation held its breath and watched entire sections of the New Jersey coast disappear, a popular lifelong Republican, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, and his neighbor, former Republican and current independent New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have only high praise for the president’s response to a super storm whose impact is still being felt.
New York’s mayor even went so far as to endorse a Democrat, Barack Obama, for re-election.
But, it’s not just in the area of crisis management that Mr. Obama is to be commended. It is for giving the lie to the Romney/Ryan argument that his is failed economic leadership.
In a hundred years, should Mr. Romney prevail, this election will likely be seen as a turning point, and the point at which the United States became the Citizens United states, and the time when corporations officially ruled this country
So, on the eve of what will someday be seen as a landmark election, it might be a useful exercise to take a quick look at some of the signature economic accomplishments of the Obama presidency:
First, Mr. Obama has presided over more than 30 consecutive months of private sector job growth.
While the jobs report just released showed one-tenth of one percent increase in the unemployment rate, from 7.8% to 7.9%, the number of new jobs created actually surpassed expectations.
Chrysler reported its strongest sales since 2005. General Motors’ profits inched up, and Ford remains stable.
Consumer confidence is at its highest level in five years. Retail sales are up. Construction of new housing is up. We are seeing a slow, but serious reemergence of the housing market.
As McClatchy also reports, the number of Americans who say they expect unemployment to rise over the next 12 months is at its lowest level in 30 years.
Job growth is up to 2% this quarter from 1.4%.
And, more than the numbers, is the trend. Robust or otherwise, there is no denying it. We are in the midst of a recovery spurred, in part, by a president who lowered taxes on 95% of Americans.
What part of the word “recovery” are Republicans missing?
What more does the American voter want? Do we expect to have a president who can walk on water?
Is Romney the only one who suffers from Romnesia, or do the rest of us suffer from it, too?
On whose watch was $2 trillion added to the deficit in the name of fighting a war on terror? Who passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008? Under which president was job creation in the minus column when he left office? On whose watch were taxes lowered on the upper 2% of this country, and what effect did that have on job creation? If you answered George W. Bush, you were right on all counts.
The GOP still says they’re the part of smaller government. Well, if that’s true, then why did the GOP bail out the banks, and Wall Street? The same folks who went to bat for Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac left thousands stranded in New Orleans, perishing in the face of Hurricane Katrina.
And, after Hurricane Sandy, what is Romney’s position on FEMA? The candidate now says we should keep the federal agency while at the same time turning it over to the states to privatize it. This is not just doublespeak. It is insolent doublespeak. You can only go so far insulting the intelligence of the average American. Romney has maxed out.
Now, four years after he left office, Gov. Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, are calling for a Bush revival. After four years of Mitt at the wheel, the financial mess Obama inherited will make Hurricane Sandy look like a walk in the park.
Judging by how close this presidential race is, Romney isn’t the only one who has Romnesia. Everyone who votes for him does, too.
Jayne Lyn Stahl is a widely published poet, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter, member of PEN American Center, and PEN USA.
